New draftee Jadeveon Clowney, left, and fellow linebacker Whitney Mercilus have the eye of the new boss as head coach Bill O'Brien puts the Texans through the first organized team activity for the full squad on Tuesday. less

New draftee Jadeveon Clowney, left, and fellow linebacker Whitney Mercilus have the eye of the new boss as head coach Bill O'Brien puts the Texans through the first organized team activity for the full squad on ... more

Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff

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Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel was doing his maneuvering with trash cans on Tuesday, but when it comes to actual players, he has a number of high draft choices at his disposal.

Texans defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel was doing his maneuvering with trash cans on Tuesday, but when it comes to actual players, he has a number of high draft choices at his disposal.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Staff

Just call Crennel 'Mr. Moving Parts'

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Romeo Crennel has been the Texans' defensive coordinator for almost five months under new coach Bill O'Brien.

Not surprisingly, O'Brien and the defensive players are impressed with Crennel, whose résumé includes five Super Bowl rings earned with the New York Giants and New England Patriots.

Crennel, 66, worked for Bill Parcells when the Giants won two Super Bowls and for Bill Belichick when the Patriots won three.

"He's a commanding presence," inside linebacker Brian Cushing said Tuesday, when the Texans conducted the first of 10 organized team activities. "He's very demanding. He holds everyone accountable.

"Everybody has to be technically sound. He makes sure everyone knows their job. I think he's a very game-plan-oriented coach. He knows how to attack opponents."

Attacking opponents after locating their vulnerability is something Crennel emphasizes.

The more Texans fans watch Crennel's 3-4 defense, the better they'll be able to understand his philosophy.

"We'll be a multiple (looks) defense," Crennel said. "We want to put the best players on the field."

Imagine these five players among the front seven: Cushing and Brooks Reed at inside linebacker, J.J. Watt at end and Jadeveon Clowney and Whitney Mercilus at outside linebacker.

That's four former first-round picks and a second-round selection (Reed).

Then imagine Crennel lining them up at different positions to confuse the offense.

"You have to be flexible and be able to adapt to what your players can do, and you have to be able to adapt to what your opponent's doing," Crennel said. "It changes all the time.

"That's something I learned from Belichick: Study your opponent, find out what they're doing good, and figure out what you need to take away.

"You have to know what the strengths and weaknesses of your players are and then try to put them in the best place to be successful."

Formations galore

Once Crennel figures out what his players can and can't do, he'll move them around in an attempt to create mismatches.

For instance, Watt could line up in a three-point stance, or he might stand up. Clowney can stand in the base defense and drop in passing situations. Reed can play inside and outside. Mercilus can switch sides.

"He's a smart guy (who's) been around the league a long time," Watt said. "He's got a lot of knowledge, experience and good ideas. I'm excited to play for him."

Naturally, Crennel is excited to coach Watt, who might be found anywhere along the line of scrimmage - up or down.

"I think moving him around will be an asset for us," Crennel said. "I know he can play well inside.

"I watched the Pro Bowl, and they used him as an outside rusher, and he looked pretty good out there."

Last year, the coaches wanted to move Reed inside but couldn't find an outside linebacker good enough to take his place. Now he's working inside.

"I liked what I saw from Brooks last year," Crennel said. "He played almost every snap.

"He's a good, consistent player. He's got some of the versatility we're talking about. We'll try him at different spots to see how he picks them up and how he looks playing those spots."

Clowney, the first overall pick in the draft, is working with new linebackers coach Mike Vrabel on making the transition to outside linebacker in the base defense.

"He's a willing student, and there's a lot for him to learn," Crennel said. "He's going to study it. It's early in this process. We'll keep working with him and see how fast he can come along.

"When we get to camp and put the pads on, that's when we'll start to find out what we really have, not only in him but in some of the other players also.

"If they keep studying and working hard, when we get to camp and put the pads on, I'm hoping we'll be able to make the kind of progress I'm looking for so we can do some of the things I want to do."

O'Brien leaning on him

O'Brien was asked what has impressed him about Crennel.

"His demeanor," the first-year head coach said. "His knowledge of the game, his ability to talk to his players and to his fellow coaches, and his ability to listen."

Crennel means a lot more to O'Brien than being his defensive coordinator. Crennel also has experience as a head coach at Cleveland and Kansas City.

"It's been great to have him here, because he's sat in the seat that I'm sitting in," O'Brien said. "That's always good to have a guy on the staff that has been there and you can bounce ideas off of him.

"It would be hard to bounce off somebody that hasn't been in that situation."